Key or wedge for railway-chairs and steel rails.



PATENTED DEC. 11, 1906.

I KILLBN. KEY .OR WEDGE FOR R AY CHAIRS AND STEEL RAILS. AAAAAAAA IONFILED FEB. 26, 19 06.

EDWARD BRICE KILLEN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

KEY OR WEDGE FOR RAILWAY-CHAIRS AND STEEL RAILS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 11, 1906.

Application filed February 26, 1906. Serial No. 303,044.

to Keys or Wedges for Railway-Chairs and Steel Rails, of which thefollowing is a specification.

In order to keep the present steel rails rigidly fixed in their chairs,spring keys or Wedges of angled iron have been made and used like atriangle having an apex resting against the inside jaw of the metalchair and having the ends of the arms jammed tightly between the extremetop and bottom of the web or waist of steel rail like a wedge, and inusing these spring triangles the jaws of the metal chairs have beencontinually broken off in driving said keys into position.

In order that my invention may be properly understood and readilycarried into effect, I have hereunto appended one sheet of drawings, ofwhich Figure 1 is a perspective view of the springmetal key or wedgeembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal elevation of the same.Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken through the line a e of Fig. 2 andconstitutes the body of the wedge. Fig. 4 is a transverse section takenthrough the line to x of Fig. 2 and constitutes the non-engaging end ofthe wedge. Fig. 5 is also a transverse section taken on the line y 2also of Fig. 2 and constitutes the driving or engaging tapered end ofthe wedge. Fig. 6 is a part end elevation and part section of a steelrail and railway-chair to which my invention is applied and Fig. 7 is aside elevation of the same, all hereinafter more fully referred to anddescribed.

My invention relates also to spring-keys a, of a nature such asdescribed, and this spring-key is applicable to all sections and shapesof steel rails b, but has the important feature of having its apex a soshaped as to enable one end of said key a to easily enter or be driveninto its required position between steel rail 1) and inside j aw ofmetal chair a, having its two arms made so that said arms a u assumesuitable and variable positions under drive, thereby forming when inposition a spring triangle having an apex at, which keys itself againstthe jaw c of the metal chair 0 when driven home and having a hump a onapex capable of being driven be tween the web or waist b of rail 1) andinside jaw c of metal chair 0 without in any way running the risk ofbreaking of said jaw of chair in driving home the said triangular key a,and this is efieeted by the suitable and variable position under drivewhich the arms a a of said triangular key a are capable of assuming. Thesaid arms a a never, even when driven home into position, are wedgedagainst the extreme to b and bottom b of the said web or waist of steelrail 1), but being capable in all conditions and at all times of havingthe great advantage'of assuming suitable and varying positions incontact with the web or waist b of steel rail 1) without ever jammingitself between steel rail 1) and jaw c of chair 0. The tapering enteringend of said key a is suitably tapered to easily enter between steel rail6 and jaw c of chair 0, and when the hump a (in form of inclined plane)of said key a is being driven in between steel rail 5 and jaw c of chaira there is no risk whatever in breaking jaw c, and yet when said key ais locked in position by the square-shouldered enlargement of on theopposite end it has still a base capable of assuming the requiredsuitable and variable positions under weight of the train, therebygiving to said key a the required elasticity which up to the present canonly be obtaine on to-days wooden keys.

I claim 1. A triangular metal key or wedge of the character described,having one end of its apex formed with an inclined hump.

2. A triangular metal key or wedge of the character described having oneend of its apex formed with an inclined hump and having the other end ofits apex formed with a shoulder.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

EDWARD BEIGE KILLEN.

Witnesses:

JOHN LIDDLE, JOHN TRAIN LIDDLE.

